TR-Motorsport Mix It with the Big Boys!

By Earl Brown (photos by Earl Brown and Roland Hurni)

TR-Motorsport Powered by Conti-X were in action last weekend for Round 2 of the Toyo Tires 3K Championship at the Bira International Circuit on the outskirts of Pattaya. As the team missed Round 1 due to the car not being ready, scoring points this weekend was vital for them to mount a serious title challenge. The challenge was even greater when it was realised that due to Thomas’s Class A driver ranking within the Royal Automobile Association of Thailand he would have to drive in the top tier races meaning he would be significantly out powered by other cars on the grid. The DC 5 with its standard road engine has approximately 200 BHP other cars on the grid were in the range of 400-600 BHP and four wheel drive.

Thomas a racing driver with over 36 years’ experience was unfazed about the task that lay ahead and concentrated on squeezing as much out of the car as possible, knowing the tight corners would be where he could make the time up that he would inevitably lose on the straights. Qualifying began in searing heat with the track temperature rising every lap giving Thomas more traction and helping him securing Pole Position in Race 1 and P2 in Race 2.

As the lights went out for Race 1 Thomas and the underpowered DC5 were swamped at the start losing several places on the main straight down to the first corner, however the Dane with years of experience on the aging track was soon catching the more powerful cars in the corners, managing to claw back a few places and eventually finishing a very credible 4th. Races, 2, 3 and 4 produced even more points with Thomas finishing in second place for each race and narrowly missing out on the top step of the podium in Race 4. Although the odds were heavily stacked against the team, the impeccable driving from Thomas kept them in the chase and proved TR-Motorsports can mix it with the big boys! Before the next Toyo Tires 3K Round a new spec car will be readied and upgraded to hopefully match the performance of the other teams on the grid.

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